


...and Four makes twelve

by Fiddlerinthewoods



Series: Linked Universe [4]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: 15 000 words plus, Apples, Assassins & Hitmen, Blood, But Only a Little Bit - Freeform, But that didn't work out, Canon-Typical Violence, Colors, Colours, Concussions, Conversations, Death Threats, Four Sword - Freeform, Four-centric, Friendship, Headaches, I Don't Even Know, IT'S LONG, Internal Conflict, Line breaks, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Long One Shot, Minor Injuries, Near Death Experiences, One Shot, Poor bois, Separations, Sheikah Slate, Some injuries, Swords, Teleportation, Twilight hates teleportation, Violence, Warriors knows, Why isn't that a tag?, World Switching, Yiga Clan - Freeform, battles, but - Freeform, but he doesn't realise, everyone has a crush on wild, hostages, i guess, it actual arguments, it's not as dark as the tags make it out to be, line breaks return in all their glory, ouchies, sneaky bois, stealth - Freeform, surprise, sword fights, the yiga are assassins, they throw a lot of swords, was supposed to be my first lu fic, yeet the sword across the battlefield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 16:17:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20642066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiddlerinthewoods/pseuds/Fiddlerinthewoods
Summary: This shouldn't be happening.He was supposed to tell the group on his terms—not the terms of some madman.He didn't want to show Wind and Sky that he can split—though, a part of him wanted to beat the man to a pulp.AKA: the group gains four colourful members.





	...and Four makes twelve

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Legend of Zelda or Linked Universe.
> 
> TW: (MINOR) DEATH, VIOLENCE, DEATH THREATS, BLOOD, INJURIES.
> 
> Enjoy!

No one liked Switching.

The feeling of the world disappearing beneath your feet, only to remerge instantaneously, was not easy to get used to.

Most of the nine Links were fine. Depending on the day, some got headaches (Twilight and Four), some got sick (Hyrule and Four), and some got annoyed (Legend and everyone except Wind and Wild).

No one knew why Time wasn’t affected. He just seemed to shrug off the strange feeling, and focus on the health of the others.

Out of everyone, Four believed that he hated Switching the most.

Unlike everyone else, who had to only reorient themselves, he had four people to reorient on the new Hyrule. Sometimes, it was simple and he only got a mild headache, and sometimes he felt as if his head was splitting apart. Sometimes, he would feel trapped in his own skin and that he _needed to get out—needed to split—needed for everyone to be free—_and sometimes, he would feel as if he didn’t fit correctly in his body—as if it grew two sizes too large.

And, of course, it would take some time for him to seamlessly fully merge back into Four. Instead of being just Four, each of the four would be unmerge in the body of Four—controlling different aspects until he was fully reoriented.

_‘Did we lose anything?’ _Vio asked, using the few minutes they were not fully merged to do a check.

Green thought, ‘_I don’t think so. I feel no immediate pain.’_

_‘That’s good!’ _Red exclaimed, _‘We never get hurt by the Switches anyway!’_

Vio mused, _‘Who has what currently?’_

_‘I can see and blink, but not hear or control our body.’ _Green explained.

_‘I can’t see, but I can move our fingers—I believe I have control of our body.’_

Red protested to Vio, _‘Hold on! I can control the left hand.’_

_‘I stand to be corrected,’_ Vio added, _‘I control the right side. Blue, what are you?’_

_‘Everyone, shut up—Time’s speaking.’ _Blue snapped.

_‘Ah,’ _Vio realised, _‘Blue can hear then.’_

_‘What’s he saying?’ _Green wondered, _‘I can’t hear.’_

Blue huffed.

* * *

“Everyone alright?” Time asked as the group picked themselves off of the rocky ground. Catching the fur-clad Link quietly hiss and rub at his temples, he turned to him. “Twi?”

Twilight brushed him off, “Just a headache, I’ll be fine.”

Sky stood up, swaying for a second, “Does anyone else have any injuries or something we should be concerned about?”

Legend muttered under his breath, “Better fess up now…”

Wild moved towards one of the tall peaks that surrounded them, still able to hear the conversation, Wind followed him, the two almost slipping from the wet surface. Hyrule stretched his back as Warriors brushed his hair from his face and huffed to himself, “Why’d it _have _to rain…?”

“No one?” Time looked them over, his gaze paused at the frozen Four—who was just standing, looking at the ground. “Four? You okay?”

* * *

_‘—it, Time just asked us if we’re okay.’ _Blue explained.

Red thought, _‘I mean, we’re not—are we? We’re not normally this split.’_

_‘They don’t need to know that.’ _Blue snapped. _‘Vio, you need to say something.’_

Vio agreed, _‘That is what I am thinking.’_

_‘We should say something quickly before they get more worried about our silence.’ _Green pointed out.

‘_Right,’ _Vio approved, _‘I agree.’_

* * *

Four coughed into his elbow before clearing his throat. He turned forwards, where Time conveniently stood, “Yeah? Sorry, I just spaced out there for a minute.”

Legend cocked an eyebrow, “You okay? You don’t normally space out.”

“You usually pass out,” Sky added.

Four shrugged, one shoulder slower than the other—

* * *

_‘Sorry! Warn me next time, Vio!’_ Red pled, _‘Please!’_

* * *

—and said in a voice a little louder than normal, “I’ve been trying on _not _doing that… Where are we, anyway?”

“What can you see up there, cub?” Twilight wondered where Wild and Wind peeked over the mountain tops.

The rain made it hard to see their exact destination, the fog keeping the ground and any hidden towns from sight.

“Mountains!” Wind yelled back, “Lots of mountains!”

Legend sighed and kicked at the slippery ground, “Of course, stuck on mountain tops on a rainy day—what a way to get injured…”

Time furrowed his brow before nodding. “We should find some shelter fast.”

Hyrule glanced behind them, “Maybe there’s a cave somewhere?”

Four blinked, pausing—

* * *

_‘I’m bending down now, Red,’ _Vio explained, _‘Copy my movements.’_

_‘Okay…!’_

* * *

—before bending down and touching the ground, “I don’t believe caves can form from this stone. At least, not easily. It’s not limestone.”

Sky turned to the shortest Hero, “Huh… I didn’t know that.”

“Became a geologist between worlds, Four?” Warriors teased.

Four blushed.

* * *

_‘Have I mentioned how much I hate it when Vio has control?’ _Blue wondered. _‘Cause I do.’_

_‘Honest mistake,’ _Vio explained, _‘I am sorry.’_

_‘Vio,’ _Green said, _‘Answer Warriors’ question.’_

* * *

“Nah,” Four waved him off, “The stone just seems too hard to form a cave, that’s all.”

Warriors mused, but didn’t say anything.

Wild leant forwards on the peak, Wind grabbed his tunic to keep him from slipping off. “Hold on,” he called, “I think I see something…”

“What is it?” Time wondered.

Taking off his Sheikah Slate, he opened it. Zooming in on the blue light in the distance, he gasped. He moved towards the map function of the slate and jumped for joy.

“Wild!” Wind panicked as the taller Hero slid down the mountain, towards the others.

“I have both good news and goodish news.” Wild explained as Wind slowly ran after him.

Legend furrowed his brow, “What’s the good news?”

“I know where we are.”

“And the goodish news?” Four wondered.

“We’re on my Hyrule.”

Twilight nodded, “I figured that since you knew where we are.”

“Is there an inn or shelter anywhere near?” Time wondered. “We shouldn’t stay in the rain too long.”

“Yeah,” Wild assured, “I believe we’re near Dueling Peaks Stable. There’s an inn there we can stay at.”

“Let’s move then,” Warriors started, “I don’t want to stay in the rain any longer.”

Wild nodded, “Follow me.”

* * *

As the group headed towards the stable, Four’s four went back to conversing. Walking took some time for the four to get the hang of, but they eventually managed to walk normally.

_‘Anyone feeling merged yet?’ _Green wondered. _‘Red, there’s a large stick you’re about to step on. Step over it.’_

_‘Thanks!’_

Blue sighed, _‘Not anymore than the _last _time you asked.’_

_‘We don’t know how long this will take,’ _Vio reminded, _‘We need to be patient.’_

_‘Says you,’ _Blue scoffed, _‘By the way, Hyrule has been trying to have a conversation with us.’_

_‘What?!’_

* * *

“…I find it interesting how open world Wild’s world is,” Hyrule spoke, “It just seems to be much _bigger _than my own.”

Four blinked and looked up at the brunet, “Pardon?”

Hyrule didn’t seem to notice the smaller Hero’s zoning out, “I know it sounds weird, but… maybe Wild’s world _is _bigger than our own…”

Legend scoffed from in front of them as they carefully trekked down the mountain, “How would that be possible? It’s all the same Hyrule.”

“I don’t know,” Hyrule admitted, “That’s why I said it sounds weird.”

“I don’t think it sounds weird,” Four admitted, concentrating on walking, “That sounds like an interesting theory. Maybe his world _is _bigger. We have no known reality on how different each world is. What if everything changed size, or what if what we see are different depending on the world?”

“Like what? You suggesting Wind’s world is a cartoon?” Legend wondered.

* * *

_‘What are you doing, Vio?’ _Green wondered.

* * *

“Not necessarily,” Four assured. “But what if it was? What if we are seeing different than what actually is? What we see could be what our worlds… graphics, I guess, is—and everyone sees something slightly different. We wouldn’t know.”

Hyrule blinked at Four, “Wow, Four. I never knew you were such a philosopher.”

Four paused, “It comes and goes. In fact, I don’t even remember what I just said.”

“Who knew you had such brains,” Warriors joked.

Four shrugged only with his right shoulder before hissing in pain and rubbing at his temples. “Ow…”

“What’s wrong?” Legend wondered.

“My head just hurts.” Four explained, “It should pass soon.”

“You okay to walk?” Hyrule wondered, “I don’t want you to pass out on the road.”

“I’m fine,” Four assured, “I won’t pass out. If it makes you feel better, I’ll tell you when I am going to.”

“Okay.”

* * *

_‘Stop making us sound smart!’ _Blue argued, _‘It’s going to be impossible for us to keep this up just because you wanted to sound fancy!’_

_‘I didn’t do that to sound fancy.’ _Vio explained, _‘I did it because I was having a nice conversation with Hyrule about the different worlds.’_

_‘Yeah, a conversation you missed all of.’ _Blue sneered. _‘I had to listen to it all.’_

Green piped in, _‘Vio, there’s a rock in front, move to the side by three inches.’_

_‘Guys!’ _Red complained, _‘Stop fighting! I can’t focus when you’re yelling!’_

“I am not yelling, Blue is yelling.”

_‘Because Vio is being _dumb!’ Blue explained.

Green sighed, _‘We’re going to slip on the ground if you don’t stop.’_

_‘Yeah!’ _Red agreed, _‘We can argue later! …or not at all!’_

Vio started to speak but Green spoke first, _‘Uh, guys… everyone’s looking at us.’_

* * *

“Uh,” Sky started, “You okay there, Four?”

Four blinked, “Yeah. What’s up?”

“Dude,” Legend explained, “You just spoke out loud to yourself.”

“Oh,” Four scratched at his head, “I was just thinking out loud.”

Time furrowed his brows, “Are you sure you’re okay, Four? You seem to be zoning out more.”

Legend muttered, “I’m surprised that he hasn’t passed out yet…”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Four assured, ignoring Legend, “I’m just tired.”

Warriors clapped him on his back, “So, am I! Hey, Wild, where’s this stable of yours?”

Wild peered over the cliff in front, “Down here! We’re nearly there.”

“Come on,” Time ordered, drawing everyone’s attention, “Let’s get out of this storm.”

* * *

The inn inside the stable had_ just _enough beds so that no one was sharing. That also meant they bought out the entire inn. The man at the counter didn’t seem to mind.

“Alright,” Time started, “Everyone should get some sleep tonight before we’re off in the morning.”

Wind raised his hand, “Where are we heading?”

Time turned to Wild, “This is your world, know anything that may help?”

Wild thought for a moment, “There may be something at the temples. I know someone in Kakariko Village who may have heard something through the years.”

“A group should check out the temples tomorrow, and another should head into town for supplies and to talk to this person.” Twilight added.

“Oh!” Wind exclaimed, “I want to go into town!”

“...I do as well,” Hyrule slowly raised his hand.

Time surveyed the group, “Anyone else?”

Most of the group agreed with going into town. Time then nodded, “Should we just go to the town tomorrow? We have a few days here anyway.”

“We’ve had a few stressful days,” Sky reminded, “We should have a peaceful day.”

Warriors retorted, “Yeah, the last peaceful day was in _Four’s_ Hyrule—and Wild nearly broke a tooth.”

“That croissant was good, though.”

“You’re not supposed to _eat _the—you know what? Never mind. Off topic.” Twilight sighed.

Four sagged on the bunk he claimed, leaning on his knees and rubbing the cold pain pounding from his temple.

“What’s the closest town, Wild?” Warriors asked, “And are there any hot girls?”

Wild looked at his Sheikah Slate, “There’s Kakariko Village down the path to the north. But I can teleport to any of the other towns if someone needs something not in Kakariko.”

“And the girls?”

“There’s girls everywhere,” Legend muttered, “Not just in towns.”

* * *

As the other eight Links conversed, Four argued with himself.

_‘I don’t understand why this is taking so long!’ _Blue complained. _‘We’ve never been this long unmerged since we first got the sword!’_

_‘Maybe when we wake up, we’ll be in better shape.’ _Vio suggested. _‘We may just need to rest. All the other times we Switched, we passed out soon after—when we woke up, we were back to normal.’_

_‘Oh, don’t suggest such nonsense.’ _Blue sneered, _‘What makes this time so different from the rest? We’ve been to Wild’s Hyrule before.’_

_‘Guys, stop fighting—we’re going to miss the conversation!’ _Red pled. _‘Besides, It may be our internal divide between us that is keeping us from merging again!’_

_‘Not the time for _two _philosophers, Red.’ _Blue muttered.

Green sighed, _‘All I know is that fighting is going to be harder…’_

_‘There’s no monsters in towns, Green.’ _Vio reminded. _‘And, although there are monsters among the road—there is a good chance that the frequently used paths may be clear.’_

_‘That’s the best spot for a monster, though,’ _Green explained. _‘More people to prey on.’_

Blue snapped, _‘Why are we even having this conversation?! Vio went and did a stupid thing, and that’s that! And now we have to pay for it.’_

_‘What exactly did I do that was stupid, as you say?’_

_‘You made us sound smart.’ _Blue sneered, _‘We don’t normally sound that smart—so you shouldn’t have spoken.’_

_‘Blue,’ _Vio sighed, _‘It’s fine. I solved the situation. Besides, we’re much smarter than what you think.’_

_‘I know how smart we are,’ _Blue growled.

_‘Then why are you acting like how you are?’_

Blue snarled, _‘I would strangle you if I could.’_

_‘Guys!’ _Red interrupted, _‘Can we _please _stop arguing! All you’re doing is causing us a headache…! I don’t like it when you argue.’_

_‘I agree with Red,’ _Green added, _‘We should chill out before we faint.’_

Suddenly, a flash of pain caused the four to cry out.

_‘I think we’re a little too late…’ _Vio remarked.

* * *

“…Hyrule?” Four weakly asked from his bed.

Hyrule turned away from the conversation he was having with Legend and Sky, “Yeah? What is it, Four?”

“You know how I mentioned I would tell you when I think I would pass out?” Four wondered to the alarm of the others, “I think—”

Before he could finish his sentence, gravity took hold and he felt his body falling to the ground.

* * *

“Four?!” Hyrule stood up and rushed over to the unconscious Link.

Legend handed Warriors a small bag of rupees in complaint.

“What happened?” Sky wondered as Time neared the two.

“He just fell unconscious,” Hyrule explained, sitting Four up.

Legend mused, “Doesn’t he always do this whenever we Switch. I’m surprised he waited this long.”

“I’m not!” Warriors said, counting his new rupees.

“Did you seriously bet when Four would pass out?” Wind wondered. “That’s not nice.”

Wild mused, “Why does he always faint whenever we Switch?”

“Why does Hyrule almost always vomit?” Twilight retorted, “It’s how he handles moving to a _different world._”

“I didn’t vomit this time…” Hyrule muttered.

Time overlooked Four for any hidden wounds, “He seems fine. Hopefully, he’ll be better in the morning.”

“Should someone watch him?” Wild neared the group, “Just in case something happens?”

“I can,” Hyrule volunteered.

Time shook his head, “No, you need to sleep. I can.”

“You also need sleep.” Twilight reminded.

“I know,” Time assured, “I will. I can wake you up later, Hyrule, if you want to take over.”

Hyrule nodded, “Okay.”

“What about me?” Wind wondered, “I want to help!”

“You won’t be of any help if you’re sleep deprived,” Wild mentioned.

Wind slowly nodded his head in understanding.

“Come on,” Twilight said to everyone, “We should head to sleep. It’s almost midnight, and we have an early start.”

Slowly, everyone moved to where their beds were. Time and Sky tucked Four in his bed; Time went to grab a chair to place by his bed.

Sooner than expected, all of the others slept under the shelter of the stable.

* * *

When Four woke up, he had only one voice in his head.

During the night, his four merged back into Four—as he expected from previous experiences. Though, how long he was unmerged concerned him. There was never a time when he was unmerged as long as the last time, most were ten minutes long. This time, he had nearly been unmerged for what seemed like hours.

To say he was relieved was an understatement.

Being Four was good_. _It was bliss. The feeling of being a whole machine working together in perfection, or an orchestra playing a beautiful song all in tune and timing. There was no feeling such as the feeling of being whole.

Being split was also good_. _It was natural. It was the feeling of gaining control over your body, of constant thoughts disappearing into the blissfulness of serenity. But it felt lonely. It felt as if you were missing something, as if you were not whole. When he split, he felt as if he was freed from a prison where he abandoned his soul.

Being unmerged wasn’t very good. It was forced. It was a three-legged race while balancing eggs on a spoon. Conflicting actions, thoughts, and ideals. He was disoriented, and not Four. It was wearing a horse costume and trying to act as if you were not in a horse costume, while everyone in the costume was constantly at each other's throats. There was no feeling as bad as being unmerged.

“How are you feeling?” a voice to Four’s left wondered.

Turning towards the voice, Four saw Time sitting on a stool. “What are you doing?” he wondered, his throat dry. Time offered him a small cup of water, which he greedily chugged.

“What do you remember?” Time accepted the cup back.

Four nearly snorted. He remembered _a lot _of things. Each scene through four different perspectives. He could hear what Blue heard, but not see the scenes that went along with it. He could see what Green saw, but it was all mute. He could even remember all of the conversations they had, and his passion or anger would switch sides as one spoke.

“Four?” Time cautiously asked, “You okay?”

Nodding his head, Four spoke, “I remember arriving at the inn….” he paused for a moment. He could barely remember what was going on outside his head. “I think you had a conversation… I don’t remember it.”

“At least your memory is still intact,” Time mentioned. “We decided to head into town today.”

Four perked up, “Town?”

“Yes,”

“That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Which is?”

“Why are you there?”

Time faltered, “After you fell unconscious, we needed someone to check on you during the night. Hyrule volunteered, but I suggested that he should sleep.”

“You also need sleep. Have you been doing this all night?”

“Not all night, no.” Time assured.

Four sat up in bed, his muscles were unusually not sore. “I’m fine. You didn’t need to do that. I think my mind just needed to turn off and on again. I was going to be fine.”

“Four,” Time started, “You’re a part of the team, _of course _we would take care of you. Everyone is valued and all of your safeties are our concern. We wouldn’t let you pass out without someone making sure that you’re okay.”

Silence was the response Time got.

He sighed, turning to look at the sky as the slow transformation of dawn appeared. “The others will be up soon. We’ll grab breakfast before heading out to Kakariko Village. Tomorrow, we’re heading out to the temples around Wild’s Hyrule—there may be something relating to our predicament there.”

“And if there isn’t?”

“We keep searching,” Time explained. He stood up and grabbed the chair, “If you’re up for it, mind helping me wake the others? Or, do you just want to get ready?”

Four thought for a moment, “I think I should just get ready. I need to organise my thoughts.”

Nodding, Time placed the chair back to where he grabbed it from.

Casting a quick glance at his shadow on the ground, Four got ready to go to town.

* * *

The walk to Kakariko Village was longer than the trek down the mountain.

It was mostly a flat walk, with only some hills as they neared the village. They barely got into any battles with monsters, which Four was happy about. Everyone, to be honest, was happy about not fighting monsters. Every battle you fought has more of a chance of death than every battle you _don’t _fight.

As they arrived in the small town, they were greeted by a young Sheikah woman with a basket of apples in her arms. She spotted the group of nine and gasped loudly.

“Link?” Her voice was soft.

The group blinked before turning to Wild, who removed his Hylian hood. He walked over to the woman, and the others followed behind. “Hey, Paya.”

Paya blushed as Wild smiled in greeting.

“What are you doing in Kakariko Village?” she wondered.

“They’re here for general shopping, I’m looking for Impa. Is she still at home?”

Paya nodded, “Yes. I was just about to deliver these apples home.” she paused for a moment before asking in a soft voice, “Would you like to come with?”

“Impa?” Time repeated.

Sky furrowed his brow, “I know an Impa too…”

“I don’t!” Wind chimed. He paused, “At least… I don’t _think _I do.”

Warriors mused, “I wonder if this Impa is like the commander…”

“She’s my grandmother,” Paya explained. “And the Village Elder.”

“And a friend.” Wild added at Sky’s worried look. “I’m sure she’s different than yours.”

“Link,” Paya gained the long-haired blond’s attention. “Who are these people?”

Warriors stepped forward and lightly pecked her hand, she gasped at his actions. “You may call me Warriors.”

Legend scoffed.

Paya retrieved her hand from the captain, her face now a darker shade of red. “N, Nice to meet you, Warriors.”

“I’m Wind!” the young Link proudly stated.

“I’m Four, and this is Hyrule.”

Paya turned to the latter mentioned Link, “You’re named after the kingdom?”

Hyrule scratched the back of his head, “It’s a nickname…”

“This—” Warriors slung an arm around Legend’s shoulders— “is Legend. He’s Sky.”

Sky waved as Legend pushed Warriors arm off.

“Time’s the old man,” Legend earned a look of disapproval from Time.

“And I’m Twilight,” the fur-clad Link introduced.

Paya glanced over everyone before stopping at Wild, “Those are some… unique names you have…”

“They are so.” Time nodded, “Wild, can you come over here for a moment? I think we should discuss before we separate.”

Wild nodded, “Sure.”

Paya didn’t move as she watched the wild Hero join the rest.

Warriors cocked an eyebrow at Wild, “I hope you realise that she likes you.”

“What?”

Legend elbowed Warriors as Time spoke up. “When should we reconvene later?”

“How about before dusk?” Warriors suggested, “At the latest. We’re not exactly going to go halfway cross Hyrule—wait, can we?”

“No.”

“Dusk seems a little long.” Sky mentioned.

“Then, what are you suggesting?” Legend crossed his arms, “An hour?”

“No—”

“Dusk _is_ a little too long,” Time agreed, “We should meet up around noon,” he turned to the sun, “That should give us a few hours.”

“That sounds good.” Four nodded.

“Is everyone in agreement?” Twilight wondered, “We meet back at noon?”

The various Links all agreed with the idea. They parted and went off on their own. Wild headed over to Paya, while Twilight tagged along. Wind grabbed Sky and Warriors, before running off into town. Time sighed and headed up a hill, away from the inner town. Hyrule, Legend, and Four simply stood where the group was a moment ago.

“So…” Hyrule started, “What do you guys want to do?”

Legend scoffed, “I’m heading for a walk. Do whatever you two want to.”

“I’m thinking of seeing if there’s a smithy anywhere,” Four admitted.

Legend snorted, “Why? You don’t break your swords.”

“There’s never a time when you stop learning,” Four explained. “You can tag along if you want, Hyrule.”

Hyrule thought for a moment, “Okay, I’ll go!”

* * *

“So, in this entire town, there’s no blacksmith.” Hyrule sat down in front of a fire by a large building.

Four leant against the apple tree by the fire, “Unfortunately, no.”

“What do we do now?” Hyrule wondered, looking up at the short Link.

Shrugging, Four sighed. “I don’t know…”

Before either Link could speak up, a traveller walked over to them. “Excuse me?” she wondered, “Are you two swordsmen?”

“Why?” Hyrule looked up at her.

“My friend was just looking for some.” she explained, “He was looking for two swordsmen to talk with. If you want, I can take you over to him.”

Four furrowed his brow, “Why was he looking for swordsmen?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know. I rarely know what he’s going on about. I do know that he won’t stop bugging me until I bring him two swordsmen.”

Four and Hyrule looked at each other, “Should we?”

Hyrule shrugged, “I can’t see the harm in a conversation.” He stood up and looked at the traveller, “Where’s your friend?”

She gestured out of the town, “Follow me!”

Four and Hyrule locked eyes once more before following the woman down the road.

* * *

The woman’s friend was a man In his late twenties. He waited by the curve in the road, a large backpack on his shoulders.

“I found them!” the woman waved to the man, “I got your swordsmen!”

The man turned to them, “Ah! That’s good!”

Stopping in front of the man, the woman stood beside him. “Why are we here?” Four wondered.

“Do you need help?” Hyrule worried.

The man shook his head, “No, no, no, my good sir! I was just wondering if either of you want to fight for a cause that will benefit the entirety of Hyrule!”

Four furrowed his brow, “…What cause?”

“The Y—”

Before the man could finish his sentence, a voice shouted in the distance. “Hey, you two! I thought we weren’t supposed to leave town!”

Turning to the voice, Four and Hyrule saw Legend walking over to them.

“If Time gets pissed cause I chased after you, I’ll leave you on firewood duty.”

“Legend?” Hyrule asked as the red-donned Link stopped by them, “You followed us?”

Legend crossed his arms, “I saw you leave town—which we were _not _supposed to do. Anyway, noon’s nearing and we should head back.”

“If you don’t want to get in trouble with Time, then why’d you come?” Four remarked.

Legend huffed before glancing at the two travellers, “Who are these?”

The man shook himself from his shock, “Are you, perhaps, a swordsman as well?”

“Who wants to know?”

“We,” the man started, “Are looking for worthy swordsmen to join our cause. We need the best of the best, the ones who will not back down! The ones who are loyal to the cause!”

“Ah huh,” Legend interrupted them, “What are you going on about?”

“The Yiga Clan, of course!” the woman explained.

The three Links processed the word before Four spoke up. “Didn’t Wild mention something about the Yiga before?”

“Yeah! Him and Warriors.” Hyrule agreed. “I can’t remember what it was about.”

Without prompting, Legend pulled out his fire rod and shot at the two travellers. “You idiots,” he chastised, “Wild told us that the Yiga want him _dead!”_

Four grabbed his sword, “Right.”

The man and woman disappeared in a cloud of smoke before reappearing in a completely different garb. The Yiga on the left, who Four presumed was the man, spoke. “So, you know the Hero… do you?”

“How do you know?” Hyrule asked.

“You just confirmed it,” the woman mentioned, “Besides, there’s only _one _person we want dead.”

The two Yiga Clan members yelled at the same time, “Death to the Hero!” before charging at them. Four had barely enough time to grab his sword before a sickle swiped at his face. He blocked the blow and jumped back.

Legend shot at one of the members, who attacked Hyrule and managed to nick his arm. The member disappeared before reappearing behind Legend, the veteran barely blocked the blow. The member grabbed their bow and shot at Hyrule, the Hero jumping out of the way.

Four’s attention returned to the member he was fighting when a sword nearly severed his arm. He twisted away and swung his sword at them, nicking them in the mask. The member disappeared before reappearing behind him, slashing his arm with the sickle. Four hissed before swinging his sword around, missing the member by an inch.

Midway through the battle, two travellers wandered into the fight scene. Without saying a thing to the two members, the travellers disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Standing in their place were two Yiga Clan Blademasters, a much stronger opponent to the Footsoldiers.

One of the Blademasters attacked Legend, who put away his rod and grabbed his sword. The other joined the Footsoldier attacking Four. In their hands was a Windcleaver, a weapon Four hadn’t seen before. The Footsoldier attacked him from behind as Four blocked the Windcleaver, moving to roll from an attack by the sickle.

The Footsoldier used her bow and shot two arrows at Four, which he easily deflected with his shield. The Blademaster attacked him from the side, and nicked him just as he jumped back.

“Four!” Hyrule exclaimed, kicking back his own opponent.

The Blademaster against Legend managed to hit the Link away, as he was in the process of standing up as Four stepped back.

Hyrule tried to make his way over to Four, but was stopped by two arrows nearly shooting him in the foot. Turning his attention back to the member, Hyrule begun to deflect blows after blows from the sickle.

Legend charged the Blademaster against him. He simply used his Windcleaver to swipe at the Link’s stomach. Blood squirted on the ground as he fell.

“Legend!” Hyrule exclaimed, his attention was drawn away for enough time that the member managed to slam his face with the pummel of the sickle. Keeping the momentum of the attack, Hyrule fell to the ground as well.

Four growled and tried to continue fighting back as Legend tried to stand up. He grasped his stomach wound, and was reaching through his pack, when the Blademaster raised his Windcleaver above his head. In a panic, Four threw his Four Sword at the Blademaster—who, luckily, seemed to have been beaten down by Legend.

The two swords dropped to the ground, both equally covered in blood. A body soon followed.

Legend widened his eyes at the two swords in front of him before grasping the Windcleaver, for his was across the battlefield. He grabbed the Four Sword—ignoring Four’s rule about _not _touching the sword—and passed it back to Four, “Catch!”

Four jumped out of the way of an attack, and used his momentum to roll over to Legend. The members disappeared in a cloud of smoke, but didn’t reappear.

“We’re outnumbered.” Four mentioned, “And Hyrule’s out cold.”

Legend readied his sword. He growled, “Where’d those _bastards _go?”

Three puffs of smoke appeared from behind the two, and they turned to the members.

“Who are these three?” the Blademaster demanded.

“They know the Hero,” the woman explained. “And they’re swordsmen.”

“Then why haven’t you killed that one?” The Blademaster pointed to Hyrule.

Four tightened the grip on his weapon as Legend growled, “Don’t you _dare.”_

“We’re thinking of taking one hostage,” the man explained, “Lure the Hero to where we desire. Then we take them _both _out.”

The Blademaster readied their Windcleaver, “Which one do you have in mind?”

“We don’t know yet…”

Legend, done with the chatter, attacked the three. Four followed suit. They slashed and dodged the attacks, parring occasionally, and rolling out of the way. Four was forced away from Legend by the Blademaster, and the veteran wasn’t dealing with the two tricky members well.

“Your fight is with me,” the Blademaster drew Four’s attention back before he jumped out of the way of an attack.

Four focused back on his enemy as the Blademaster swung at him again. He kept getting pushed farther, and farther, away from Legend and Hyrule. He charged the Blademaster, blocking the blow, and hoping the stab them in between the armour hinges. The Blademaster smacked him away with his hand, and Four went flying.

As he landed on the road, he heard the hollow thud of a skull. Looking up, he saw Legend’s battered and wounded form fall to the ground. He stood up, focusing on keeping himself from being knocked out or killed.

The three members turned their attention to Four. He gulped. He was outnumbered, so outnumbered it was funny. Hyrule and Legend were knocked out, there was no one on the road—he was alone.

Except, he wasn’t.

Four was never alone.

Grasping his sword, he felt the magic flow through it as his mind and body split.

He became four.

* * *

Seeing the small Link split into four different people was surprising to the Yiga Clan members.

Each of the four had their own version of the Four Sword, the gem at the pummel was the same colour as their tunics.

“Finally,” Blue stretched, readying his sword, “We’re out.”

“Let’s focus on the battle on hand,” Green instructed. “Attack!”

The four Heroes charged the three members, each swiping and blocking blows. Green and Vio were handling the two Footsoldiers while Blue and Red fought the lone Blademaster.

They attacked from both sides, slicing at the Blademaster as another blocked or parried a blow. Although the member had strong weapons and high health, it couldn’t keep up with both of the Heroes simultaneously attacking.

As Green sliced through the mask of the woman, her body toppling to the ground, Vio kicked the man towards Green. Before the man could be impaled, he disappeared in a cloud smoke—not reappearing at all. Blue and Red quickly finished with the Blademaster as Vio tried to help.

The four Heroes stood in the clearing; bodies littered the grass.

“Well,” Green said, “That was faster than expected.”

Red rushed over to Legend, “Is he okay? We should call the others!”

“Legend’ll be fine,” Vio sheathed his sword, “He’s gone through worse than a few scratches. I’m surprised he didn’t split when he picked up our sword. This just adds theories to my hypothesis…”

“What about Hyrule?” Red worried.

Blue huffed, “He’s just unconscious.”

“Too bad we couldn’t do that earlier,” Green mentioned, “Then, they’d probably not have been hurt.”

Blue sneered to him, “You _know _why we couldn’t do that earlier. They _can’t _know. It doesn’t harm anyone for us to keep this secret.”

“Does anyone have a potion?” Red wondered, “I have none.”

Vio searched through his pouches, “I have one.”

“Give it, I’ll try healing Legend.” Red explained as Vio handed him the small vial.

As Red and Vio dealt with Legend, Green moved over to Hyrule—who was almost gaining consciousness. All of the four swords were sheathed, Blue’s being the last. He crossed his arms as he stood in the middle.

Hyrule’s eyes slowly fluttered open.

“Hey, you okay?” Green wondered. Hyrule blinked at him before his gaze shifted over to Blue, then Vio and Red.

“Is he up already?” Vio turned to Green, “Should we merge?”

Hyrule blinked and tried to move, Green stopped him. “Hey, you just woke up—take it easy.”

“Why… is there four of you, Four?” Hyrule wondered, still trying to sit up. Red moved over to him and helped Green keep him from moving much.

“You shouldn’t move,” Red chastised, “You’ll only injure yourself more.”

“Again,” Hyrule started, “Why is there four of you?”

Green looked him in the eye, trying to see how his pupils dilate. “There isn’t. You must have a concussion.”

Hyrule blinked, his comprehension a little sluggish. “Oh.” he perked up, “Where’s Legend? The Yiga?”

“Legend’s a little injured,” Green explained, “And the Yiga has been dealt with.”

“Oh. That’s good.” Hyrule tried to nod, but the action made his head hurt. “Ow…”

Green stood up as Hyrule wasn’t going to try and move from the pain it caused him. He moved over to where Blue and Vio were, Red shortly followed.

“He shouldn’t have seen us like this.” Blue sneered.

“He has a concussion,” Vio explained, “He won’t even remember this meeting.”

“And!” Red piped up, “If he does, we can finally explain!”

Green shook his head, “Or we could lie?”

Blue turned to him, “I’m surprised you’re able to lie that smoothly.”

“What?” Green crossed his arms, “Only thought Vio could lie?”

“What! No—”

“Anyway,” Green interrupted, “We should merge and head back into town. It’s noon, and the others are probably worried about us.”

“Or!” Red suggested, “We wait until Legend wakes up, and I keep watch and tell you if anyone is coming!”

Turns out they didn’t need to decide what to do.

Upon hearing voices in the distance, the four came to the unanimous decision of merging. They pulled out their swords, and touched the tips together.

Four became one.

* * *

When Four, Legend, and Hyrule were not waiting at noon—the group decided to see if they were just lost in the town. After checking every nook and cranny, the three were not seen.

“Did they leave town?” Wind wondered as the six Links stopped by the large fire.

“There’s no where around for sometime,” Wild mentioned.

“Maybe Hyrule got lost?” Warriors suggested, “Legend could have gone after him.”

Twilight glanced around the area, “Maybe we could ask around and see if anyone saw them?”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Time nodded.

The group of six started to ask the villagers about the three Links. One of the villagers managed to recognise them by description.

“Oh, yeah,” he nodded, “I saw them. Went after a woman, they did. They talked about something, I dunno.”

“A woman?” Sky echoed. “Did you see which way they went?”

The man pointed out of the village, down the road.

“And when did this happen?” Wind asked.

The man shrugged, “Bout forty-five minutes ago, I think.”

Sky and Wind left the man before meeting up with the rest. “We have a lead.”

* * *

It didn’t take long to find where the woman led the three. It was straight down the road, just by the side. There was no secret hideout or hidden fields. It was out in the open.

A conversation could be heard as the six neared, it sounded like Four was talking to… himself. There was a hand lying just on the path, “What in the name of Hylia?” Sky muttered.

“Keep your eyes out,” Time warned.

Suddenly, the conversation died out as a bright flash erupted from where the hand came from. Rounding the corner, the six found Four leaning against his sword, seemingly exhausted. Yiga Clan members laid on the ground, each dead—bananas littered around them. Hyrule was looking at the bow he grabbed from the ground, preoccupied to notice the group. Legend was sprawled on the ground.

“Four! Hyrule! Legend!” Wind gasped, “Are you okay?”

Four and Hyrule looked up. “Yeah,” the short Link said, “I’m fine.”

“Yiga.” Wild hissed, looking down at the bodies. “Two Blademasters and a Footsoldier.”

Sky moved over to where the unconscious Legend laid. Hyrule waved at the group, “My head hurts.”

“He has a concussion,” Four explained, sheathing his sword. “I gave Legend a potion, so he shouldn’t be bleeding too badly.”

“What happened here?” Time wondered as Wind moved towards Hyrule. Twilight went to Legend, where he helped Sky stand him up.

“We got ambushed by the Yiga Clan,” Four explained, “A woman asked us to help her friend out here. They tried to recruit us into the Yiga Clan, Legend realised who they were—and attacked. Midway through, the Blademasters—as you called them—arrived. Legend was injured and knocked out, while Hyrule was only knocked out.”

“The Yiga don’t normally leave survivors,” Wild mentioned, “Why didn’t they kill them?”

Four, hesitant to explain the real reason, shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t tend to talk to the people trying to kill me.”

“You said that a woman invited you to her friend,” Time mused, “That’s two people, and then two more joined… then why is there only three bodies?”

“One disappeared mid battle,” Four explained, “He left, I don’t know where he is.”

Warriors helped Wind stand Hyrule up. He blinked at Four, “Hey… where’d the rest go? Why is there only _one _of you…?”

Time looked back at Four for an explanation, “His concussion,”

“We need somewhere clean for Legend,” Sky explained, “Is there anywhere we can go?”

Wild thought for a moment, “The inn’s not very clean… my house is on the other side of the map—and teleporting doesn’t seem wise at the moment. Maybe Impa could lend us a bed for Legend and Hyrule?”

“If not,” Time added, “I can get fairies for them.”

“Are _you _okay, Four?” Wind wondered to him.

Four nodded, “Yeah, I’m fine. I just have a little nick.”

“Don’t think we’re not going to treat that as well,” Time mentioned before surveying the scene. “Let’s clean up first before all heading out. Sky, Warriors, Wild, you guys can go ahead with Hyrule and Legend—Four go with them. We’ll meet you there.”

The named Links nodded before slowly leaving the clearing. Four tagged along in the back, too exhausted to move quickly.

Already, he missed the feeling of being split. Of having his mind be its own person—instead of having there be a subconscious divide between the parts of him. Even the pain that can come from having to deal with the different parts of him was fine. He learnt his lesson from fighting Shadow and Vaati—he learnt how important teamwork was.

But he couldn’t let the others know. Even though a part of him longed to be able to be himself around the others, there was always an anxiety that came with that thought. What if him being able to split into four people was too weird for them? From what he knows, no one else could do something like that. Sure, Twilight could shift into a wolf—but he didn’t have the chance of being unmerged.

As much as the Four Swords was a blessing, it was also a hindrance. Whenever they Switched, Four was unmerged. He would be disoriented and unable to aid the others to how they may need. Him being able to separate added three new bodies that someone could kill or kidnap.

“Four?” Sky asked, dragging him from his thoughts. “You sure you’re alright? Your arm hasn’t stopped bleeding.”

Grasping his bleeding wound, Four felt the wetness of blood on his fingers. “I can take a potion when we stop. It’s nothing major.”

Sky furrowed his brow, not liking the idea. “I’m not sure this should wait.”

“I’ll be fine.” Four assured, “The blood’s starting to clot.”

Sky mused but didn’t say anything.

* * *

It took two days for Legend to wake up.

During that time, the others planned and became close to the locals of Kakariko Village. They decided to head to the two temples: Time, Wild, and Twilight would head to the Forgotten Temple while Sky, Four, and Wind would head to the Temple of Time. Warriors would stay with Hyrule and Legend as the two fully healed.

As expected, Legend wasn’t thrilled about the plan.

“What do you _mean _I have to stay here?” he demanded.

“You’re still healing,” Twilight explained, “You can’t risk reopening your wound.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Hyrule added, “I have to stay as well.”

“You have a concussion,” Legend reminded, “Head injuries are harder to heal than bodily ones.”

“And you—“ Time turned to Legend— “have the chance to rest in a safe place. Wild’s Impa said that you can stay as long as you need. When a chance like this arises, it’s always best to take it.” 

Crossing his arms, Legend sighed. Time had a point.

“Here,” Wild passed him a bowl of hot soup, “You should eat something.” 

Begrudgingly, Legend accepted the soup.

* * *

Four stood outside of Impa’s house. Rain poured down outside, but he was protected by the shelter.

No one stood beside him, but he was too busy thinking to care.

_‘You know,’ _he thought, _‘Legend wouldn’t have gotten hurt if the others knew… I could have split as soon as the Yiga attacked.’_

He then scoffed at his own thought, _‘Everyone has secrets. I’m sure Hyrule and Legend are hiding some as well.’ _

_‘But,’ _he mused, _‘I could split more…’_

He shook his head, _‘I don’t think I’m ready to tell them yet… maybe another time…’_

_‘But—what if another time arises where them knowing could be life saving?’_

_‘But, really, how likely is that?’_

_‘…I never know though…’_

_‘I’m sure that the fact I can split won’t be the weirdest thing they’ve seen—they’ve probably seen weirder.’_

_‘It doesn’t matter how weird it is, it matters if it is critical to the mission. Could someone get hurt by my secret? Legend and Hyrule already did.’_

“Hey,” a voice started, shocking Four from his thoughts. “You ready to go?”

Turning to look at the taller Link, Four nodded. “Yeah.”

Wind smiled, “Good! Sky’s just checking up on Legend and Hyrule.”

Four nodded before turning back to look at the drenched town. “Is it smart to head out in this weather?”

Wind shrugged, “Wild said that it should be cloudy and then clear soon.”

Four mused but didn’t say anything.

After a few moments of silence, Sky left the building. “Hey,” he greeted, “Ready to go?”

Nodding, the two shorter Links followed Sky.

* * *

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the best idea to wander around a Hyrule that none of them were familiar with.

If a crisis were to occur, they wouldn’t know where the closest safe place was.

Such as now.

It shouldn’t have been too surprising that the three Heroes were surrounded in the middle of an empty field.

It shouldn’t have been too surprising that it was the Yiga Clan surrounding them.

It shouldn’t have been too surprising that they were after Wild and/or a hostage.

Yet, it still was.

The puffs of smoke surrounding the group caused them to draw their weapons. Four furrowed his brow as the shapes of three Blademasters and one Footsoldier surrounded them. There was a crack in the Footsoldier’s mask.

“Yiga Clan.” Four explained, “I think that’s the guy I fought earlier.”

The man raised his sickle into the air, “Death to the Hero!”

“DEATH TO THE HERO!” The Yiga Clan chanted before charging at the three.

“Wind,” Sky started, unsheathing the Master Sword, “Call Wild and the others.”

Wind grabbed his necklace as Four slashed at the Blademaster. He dodged out of the way of the attack, using his size to his advantage. Sky and Wind were battling against the other Blademasters as the Footsoldier stared down Four.

Four kicked the Blademaster away and stabbed at him with his sword, earning a hiss from the enemy. Dodging out of the way of the Windcleaver, which he was now—unfortunately—familiar with, he was pushed away from the others.

The Blademaster and Footsoldier separated Four, and the Footsoldier stepped in front of the Blademaster—who turned back to the other two Links.

“The man who can split into four,” the man started, “How we meet again…”

Four gripped the sword, “You literally tracked me down.”

The man tilted his head, “I will take great enjoyment in killing you.”

Four lunged at the man, swiping at him from above. The man disappeared before reappearing behind Four, a similar move one of the Blademasters did with Sky. The Blademaster behind Sky kicked him, hard, in the back—causing the man to lose his breath. Sky collapsed to the ground as his slight breathing condition kicked in.

“Sky!” Wind cried, fighting against the Blademasters.

Unlike Sky, Four dodged the attack. He rolled to the side, swinging his sword at the man. The man deflected the blow and tried to kick Four—who jumped back.

Wind was overcome by the three Blademasters, who easily disarmed him and forced him to his knees. A sword was kept at his neck.

“Four!” Wind called, “Run!”

Four glanced at the younger Link, giving the man a window of opportunity as he was suddenly kicked in the face. His sword tumbled to the ground, as did his body as he fell.

Sky was kept to the ground by the boot of a Blademaster, he still struggled to properly breathe. An arrow was aimed at his face.

As Four reached for the sword of his namesake, the man spoke. “If you do that, they die.”

Four froze before turning to the man, “It’s not like you, Yigas, to keep people alive.”

A sickle was brought to Four’s neck, “Stand up.” the man ordered.

Slowly complying for the sake of Sky and Wind, Four stood.

“You bested us last time with your surprise attack,” the man monologued. “It won’t happen again. We want the Hero dead, and you know the Hero. I’d reckon to say that you are _close _to him. That means, he’ll come looking for you—won’t he?”

“If you hurt any of us, he’ll kill you.” Four mentioned.

The man smiled, “Not if we kill him first.” he stepped towards Four, pressing his sickle closer to the skin on his neck, “Now, you’re going to… do what you do to become four people—” Wind shot Four a confused look as Four furrowed his brow— “and we’re going to kill the Hero.”

This shouldn’t be happening.

He was supposed to tell the group on _his _terms—not the terms of some madman.

He didn’t _want _to show Wind and Sky that he can split—though, a part of him wanted to beat the man to a pulp. How long would it take the others to get to them?

Maybe he could stall?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Four stated.

The man growled, “Yes, you do. Don’t stall.”

The sickle pressed against his neck more, almost drawing blood.

“And if I don’t?”

The man smirked through the crack in his mask, “Your friends will die. I think we’ll start with the kid.”

Wind struggled against the arms holding him, “You let me go now! I’ma go over there and fight you!”

The man laughed at him, “No, you’re not.”

Four paused for a moment, “I’m not going to fulfil your insane wishes.”

The man sighed before pointing to Wind, “Kill the kid.”

Wind cried out, “No! Stop! Don’t touch me!”

Four clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes as Wind cried. “Wait!” he cried, his calm composure weakening, “I’ll do it! Just don’t hurt him!”

The man held up his hand and the Blademaster, who scoffed at the gesture, loosened the sword against Wind’s neck. He turned back to the distressed Link, “Well?” he wondered, “Do it.”

“I need my sword.” Four explained.

“Four?” Wind wondered.

“Not going to happen.” The man scoffed.

Four huffed, “If you want me to split, then I need my sword.”

The man glared at Four before grabbing the Four Sword and handing it to Four, he kept his sickle against his neck.

Four sighed and looked down at the weapon. The magic begrudgingly flowed from the sword as his mind and body split.

One became four.

* * *

Wind and Sky, who had finally regained his breath, watched as white light enveloped the smallest Link.

They weren’t able to see what was happening in the light, but once it faded, Four had become… well, four.

Four different people stood where Four was. Each were almost a reflection of Four himself, except—they each wore only one colour on their tunics.

Sky blinked.

The name made sense now.

In each of their hands, was a Four Sword.

The man smiled at the four as Blue nearly lunged at him—only to be held back by Green.

“Look what we have here, the little one became even littler.”

Blue growled, “Come over here, and I’ll show you who’s little.”

“Blue,” Vio scolded, “Don’t provoke the person who holds Wind’s and Sky’s life in his hands.”

“There,” Green looked directly at the man, who ignored Blue and Vio, “Happy now? Can we leave?”

Red’s lip quivered, but he didn’t say anything.

The man seemed delighted, “Nope!” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a weird dart filled with a strange elixir. Quickly lunging forward, he stabbed it into Green’s arm—who happened to be the closest.

Green sliced at him with his sword as the dart emptied the contents. He staggered for a moment before collapsing to his knees, Red ran to him. “Green!”

Blue growled before turning around and throwing his sword at the Blademaster who held Sky captive. The Blademaster, as predicted, dropped his sword and let go of Sky in order to deflect the blow. Sky used that time to roll out of reach and tackle the Blademaster holding the sword against Wind’s neck.

“Stay with Green!” Vio ordered to Red, “I’ll help Blue!”

Red nodded, carefully looking over the unconscious Link. The man grabbed his sickle and stared down the two, Red grabbed his Four Sword and rose to meet him. The man lunged at Red who deflected the blow and was forced backwards.

Sky grabbed the fallen Master Sword and attacked one of the Blademasters. He repeatedly stabbed, swiped, and slashed at the Blademaster. In a record time of under a minute, the Blademaster’s body fell to the ground.

Wind whooped, “Way to go, Sky!” he yelped and dodged a swing from a Blademaster.

Sky ran over to help him as Blue and Vio dealt with the Blademaster. They followed the same routine that Red and Blue did the last time they fought. One would draw the attention and attack of the Blademaster, while the other would attack and damage the member. You rarely can stop an attack and attack an enemy at the same time.

Red kept fighting the man, who’s health was depleting.

The man disappeared before reappearing behind Red, ready to slash down on the Link, when an arrow flew through his raised wrist. He screamed and clutched his wound.

Looking up, Red saw Wild falling before grabbing his paraglider and landing safely. Wolfie ran across the field, followed by Time in the distance.

“Wild!” Red cheered, “Twi—oh, right! Wolfie! Time!”

Wild blinked at him for a moment before aiming behind him. Red turned, raising his sword as the man grabbed Green.

“Green!” Vio yelled, “He’s getting away!”

“Vio!” Blue turned to him, “Throw me.”

Vio nodded before grabbing his arm and twirling around, gaining momentum, before letting go of Blue. He soared towards the man and managed to grab onto Green as the man disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“Blue!” Red cried, running towards where the two were, “Green!”

Wild’s arrow hit the spot the man was a second too late.

Sky slayed the second Blademaster as the third disappeared. He and Wind moved over to where Red was kneeling by where Green and Blue were. Vio was awkwardly standing by his side as he cried.

“They’re dead!” he sobbed.

Wild picked up his arrow as Twilight shifted back behind Time. “No, they’re not.”

“How could you know?!”

Wild shot him a deadpan look, “They’re most likely at the hideout.”

“That does make sense,” Vio agreed, “The man did say he wanted a hostage to lure you out.”

Wild froze.

Time furrowed his brow, “What happened here?”

“Yeah!” Wind exclaimed, “Why is Four now four, and now two?”

Vio sheathed his sword, and picked up Red’s fallen one. “We’re Four.”

Red wiped his reddening eyes, “It’s a long story.”

“Not really long,” Vio handed him his sword. Blue’s still laid on the battlefield from when he dropped it to grab Green. “We pulled the Four Sword from the ground and it split us into… well, us. We are Four. Though it boggles me sometimes how it happened. Who would cast such a spell onto the sword? What is its purpose—was it truly just to add more power? Or is there a deeper meaning behind this all?”

Red sniffled, “Oh no… he’s starting to rant again…”

“What do we call you?” Sky wondered. “I assume you don’t want to be both called Four.”

“Correct,” Vio nodded, “I am Vio. This is Red. Blue and Green were taken by the Yiga.”

“You’re named after colours?” Wind questioned.

Red quietly mentioned, “I suggested it…”

“I think we should have this conversation _after _we rescue Blue and Green.” Vio mused.

Time nodded, “Definitely. And there _is _going to be a conversation.”

“Oh, no doubt.” Vio assured. “We figured something like that would occur. “

“I think—” Twilight surveyed the battlefield, bananas littered where the two Blademasters fell— “we should head back to Legend, Warriors, and Hyrule. We need to debrief and plan how to get Green and Blue back.”

Wild nodded as Time agreed. “Yes, that sounds good.”

Taking out his Sheikah Slate, Wild said, “I can teleport—”

“No!” Twilight interrupted.

“It’s the fastest way,” Wild explained.

Twilight shook his head, “I’d rather run.”

Wind raised his hand, “I can call a tornado.”

“I can do that too.” Sky added.

“Does _anyone _like teleporting?” Wild wondered, looking around.

Vio mused, “We’ve never done it split before… I wonder if it would affect us as it does when we’re whole…”

Red sniffled.

“Wild,” Time instructed, “You, me, Vio, and Red can teleport. If Sky and Wind want to take… tornadoes, they can—just don’t damage this world. Twilight will meet us in Kakariko Village.”

Vio reached out a hand for Red to take, handing him his sword as Red stood up. Before Red could hug Vio, the violet coloured Link moved to pick up Blue and Green’s forgotten swords. The three stood by Wild as he tapped on his Sheikah Slate.

At the push of a button, they disappeared.

* * *

Green awoke in a dark cell. The floor was stone, as was the ceiling. There was a prickly feeling in his arm and his head throbbed. Trying to sit up, he realised that his entire body was sore.

He lightly groaned from his efforts and a familiar face looked down at him.

“You’re awake,” Blue observed, “Finally.”

He helped the green-clad Link sit up. Looking around the cell, he found that they were in a hidden cave room. “Where are we?” he coughed.

“I think we’re in the Yiga headquarters,” Blue explained, “But I wouldn’t know, we’ve _never _been here before.”

“Calm down, Blue,” Green started, “We just need to figure something out.”

“_Figure something out?” _Blue sneered, “We’re hostages! Our swords are gone, our equipment is confiscated, and we’re _Hylia knows where!”_

“Wild probably does.” Green mentioned, “He mentioned breaking into the Yiga Clan’s secret hideout before.”

Blue crossed his arms, “They’d have to be idiots to take us to a place Wild has been before.”

“He wants him to find us, yeah? So, would it not be smart to take us to the one place Wild knows we would be?”

Blue sighed and rubbed at his temples, “Stop, you’re sounding like Vio.”

Green frowned at the name, “Where are they, anyway…?”

“They weren’t stupid enough to get caught.” Blue explained, “Unlike a _certain _someone.”

“Hey!” Green complained, “You got caught as well.”

“Trying to _save you!” _Blue growled.

“Doesn’t matter the technicalities.” Green waved him off, “We need to escape.”

A figure moved from the shadows, “That won’t be happening anytime soon.”

Blue rolled his eyes at the man, “Oh, yeah? And who can stop us? You? The one who runs from a fight?”

“It was a strategic retreat,” the man informed, his mask was still cracked. His injured wrist was wrapped in cloth. “We managed to grab some hostages. The Hero will come and save you, for if he doesn’t—you will die.”

The same thought flashed through Green’s and Blue’s mind.

_‘What will happen to Red and Vio if I die?’_

The man saw the identical looks on the two faces, “And since I don’t think you’d want that to happen, you will play as my little hostages.”

Blue growled, “We’re Heroes. We’re not going down without a fight.”

“You have no weapons, you’re outnumbered, and we have territory advantage.” the man listed, “If you try to escape, you will be killed. Besides, we only need _one _of you alive.”

“Don’t touch him,” Blue threatened, “No one gets to injure Green except for me!”

“…Thanks?”

The man laughed, “I find it hilarious that you think you have any say here. You’re under the rule of the Yiga Clan now. Once our new master meets you, you’ll be regretting fighting us in the first place.”

“To be fair,” Green reminded, “You were trying to kill us.”

The man sneered, “_Enough. _I do not tolerate backtalkers. I’m going to go and get our new master. If you try to escape, I will kill you myself.”

As the man turned and left, Blue growled. “You’ll kill us, will you? Well, I’d like to see you _try!”_

“Blue, it’s not smart to torment the assassins.” Green said as he looked around the cell. “Do you think Wild’s world has any portals?”

Blue scoffed, “There’s no Minish in Wild’s world. I highly doubt there’d be portals. Besides, there’s no pull.”

Green shrugged him off, “Maybe there’s faint portals. A crack in a pot perhaps?”

“There’s literally _nothing _in our cell.”

Green sighed and sat against the wall, “This is useless. We need to escape.”

“See any key lying around?” Blue crossed his arms, “I see none.”

“I wish Vio was here,” Green muttered, “He’d know what to do.”

“No, he’d say something with long words that makes it seem like he knows what the do.” Blue corrected, “He’s no smarter than the rest of us. He just has impulse control.”

“Doesn’t matter if he’s smarter than us,” Green mentioned, “He’ll use our intelligence in a different way.”

Blue scoffed, “Like what, he’ll deceive them like Shadow?”

At the mention of the fallen fifth member, both went silent.

“How strong are these bars anyway?” Green wondered, standing up. His head seemed to stop pounding. “Can we, maybe, break the cage?”

“I tried that while you were sleeping,” Blue opened his palm, “Got cut for it.”

Laid across his palm was a deep clotted scar.

“Did the bars cut you?”

Blue scowled, “No, genius. The Yiga did to stop me from trying again. But they are fools for I have a high pain tolerance.”

“No, you don’t.”

Blue gawked, “Uh, _yes _I do.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I—how would you know?”

Green merely stared at Blue, deadpan.

“Red has a lower pain tolerance than me.” Blue pointed out, “So, your theory doesn’t work out!”

Green sighed, “I wish Vio and Red were here.”

“So, you’ve said.”

Green straightened up, “But, they’re not. So, we have to deal with this ourselves.”

“No duh.” Blue remarked, “But we can’t do anything for them while we are _hostages for the Yiga!” _

Green nodded, “There must be something we can do. We just have to think!” 

“When we get out,” Blue growled, “Let me have a crack at that man.”

Green stood up, “We need to be quick with what we plan. I don’t want to know what they do with hostages…”

“If they try anything, I’m going to stab them.” 

“You have no weapons.” 

“I will still stab them.”

Green sighed.

* * *

“Hold up. You’re saying that Four can split into four different people?” Legend repeated.

Vio sighed, “We’re not different people. We are still Four. Instead of the sword multiplying us, it split us. Can we stop reexplaining the same points and try and rescue Blue and Green?”

Time nodded, “Yes. We need a plan.” 

Currently, the ten Links were conversing in Impa’s house. Legend and Hyrule were finally deemed healthy enough to leave bedrest. 

“They’ll most likely be at the Assassin Base.” Wild explained, “That’s where their headquarters are.”

“Do we sneak inside and escape with them?” Sky wondered.

“I’ve done it before,” Wild admitted, “But, it’s sneaking out with Blue and Green that worries me. They may not be in a condition to sneak well.” 

“And,” Vio added, “If they are injured, I don’t think we should merge. We haven’t before when someone is injured, and I fear the results.” 

Red nodded.

“If we attack straight on, we’ll be outnumbered.” Twilight mentioned.

“I could blow a tornado there…?” Wind suggested. 

“Not necessarily a tornado,” Vio thought, “Wild, you’ve snuck into the base.” 

Wild blinked, “Yeah?” 

“Could you sneak into the base, grab Blue and Green, and teleport to us?”

“I don’t like the idea of someone going in alone.” Time admitted, “Especially since the Yiga is after Wild.” 

“I say that we attack head on. We’re strong enough.” Warriors suggested.

“We have to be strategic, Warriors.” Sky said, “We can’t risk going head on and injuring ourselves.”

“Sneaking is a good idea,” Legend mentioned, “We can’t get hurt if they don’t know we’re there.”

“Who’s good at sneaking?” Hyrule wondered. 

Wind, Wild, and Legend raised their hands.

“Legend?” Warriors scoffed, “_You’re _good at stealth?”

Legend crossed his arms, “I’ll have you know, I am.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Hyrule blinked, “But… if you don’t see it, wouldn’t that mean he succeeded?”

“Exactly,” Legend nodded.

“I think,” Twilight added, breaking up Legend’s and Warriors’ conversation, “That stealth is a good way of action. Everyone else can be waiting outside the base in case of an emergency. Once Green and Blue are out, we can attack.”

Time nodded, “The Yiga need to be dealt with. If we don’t stop them, then others could get hurt. 

“Wild, Legend,” he instructed, “You two can sneak inside the base. If _anything _happens alert us. Once you get Green and Blue out, call Wind. Once they’re safe, meet us back at the base. We’ll regroup and attack.

“The rest of us,” he continued, “Will be waiting outside of the base. Do not make a move until Wild and Legend return, or if you are spotted. Deal with the threat and resume position. Wind, you and Hyrule will cover the east wall. Twilight, you and Sky will take west. Warriors and I will take the south.”

“What about us?” Red wondered. “What do we do?”

“You two will be waiting here for Green, Blue, Wild, and Legend.” Time explained.

Vio furrowed his brows, “You expect us to _wait _while you deal with the Yiga?”

“No, I would hope that you wouldn’t mind checking over the health of Blue and Green.”

“Vio,” Red softly said, “We can wait.” 

Vio crossed his arms but didn’t respond.

“Does everyone agree on the plan?” Twilight wondered, “If you don’t, we need to know now.”

* * *

The new master of the Yiga Clan was not what Green expected.

He was calm and revered, not allowing his emotions to showcase much. His voice was monotone.

His name was Master Gahka, and was only in charge because of the death of Master Kogha.

“So,” he spoke after surveying for a few minutes, “You two are our caught hostages…” 

“Let us go.” Blue growled, “Before I come out there and slice out your eye.” 

“Blue!” 

Gahka merely blinked at him, “You’re awfully violent for a so-called Hero.”

“I only get like this when I’m held hostage.” Blue sneered. “If you let us go them maybe I’ll be nicer.”

“Why do you hate Wild so much, anyway?” Green demanded, “The Hero?”

“He killed Master Kogha.” Gahka explained, “And Master Ganon wants him dead.”

“Ganon is dead,” Green reminded, “Wild—The Hero killed him.”

“Do you really think that an unstoppable force, such as Ganon, could be stopped by a mere mortal with a sword.”

Blue snapped, “None of the Heroes are mere mortals! If they were, no one could handle the Master Sword!”

Gahka merely blinked, “I’m going to tell you a few things. Never forget that you are at my will—and I have a few members who would delight at the chance to kill you. You are surrounded by the best assassins the Yiga Clan has to offer. Escape is so laughably impossible. And, if you try anything, you will receive punishment.”

“Oh, yeah?” Blue snapped, “And what are you going to do?”

“Blue!” Green chastised, “Please don’t snap at the man with our lives in his hands.”

“You,” Gahka looked at Green, “You will most likely outlive your friend before we kill the Hero.” He paused as Blue growled, “Of course, you’re both going to be killed _anyway… _We cannot allow people close to the Hero live!”

“They’re going to stop you.” Green stepped forward, “And we don’t go down without a fight! You have everything coming for you if you think we’re going to die like Keeses.”

“Yeah!”

Gahka sighed, “You Heroes never make things easy for us… I take back my earlier statement. You two are tied for the first death.”

He glanced to the guards by the door, “We need at least one of you alive. So, don’t think you can call for help. It doesn’t matter which one dies—only one is needed. The guards have been informed to kill one of you if you are too much of a handle.”

The guards carried no bows.

Before Blue could growl, a Footsoldier burst into the room. “Master Gahka!”

“What is it?”

“You’re right! Some of the Hero’s allies have been spotted by the North Wall!”

Gahka nodded, “As I suspected… Meet them at the entrance, I will join shortly.”

The Footsoldier saluted before rushing off.

Green was stunned, he glanced at Blue—who’s brow was furrowed.

_‘Did the others get caught?’_

“Now,” Gahka gained Green’s attention once more, “If you excuse me, I have a Hero to execute.”

He turned and filed out of the room, one of the guards followed.

“That couldn’t be _them, _right?” Green wondered, “Wild probably has other allies…?”

Blue didn’t respond.

“Blue?”

“I don’t know.” he snapped. “It could be them—or it could _not _be them!”

“Quiet!” the guard ordered.

Green paused. A plan bubbling in his head.

“Why?” he smirked, “We’re just talking.”

Blue blinked and turned to Green.

“There’s nothing wrong with talking.”

“I do not like your chit chat.” the guard hissed, “Your voice is annoying.”

Green shrugged, “We could be doing other stuff right now….” he mused, “We could be plotting our escape, communicating with the others, the works.”

The guard glared as Blue spoke. “What, in the name of _Hylia, _are you doing, Green?”

“I mean,” Green continued, “Do you really think we _don’t _communicate with Vio and Red?”

“All of your equipment has been confiscated.” The guard explained. He took a step forward, “If you don’t shut up, I will come in there and make you shut up.”

Green shrugged in an oddly Vio-like way.

Blue stared at Green, confused. Why was Green acting more Vio-like than normal?

“We don’t need equipment to communicate,” Green bragged, “We’re the _same person! _It’s like thinking a thought, except there are three extra thoughts. It’s quite simple, really.”

“What?” Blue wondered, “No, we…” his voice trailed off at Green’s desperate look. “Yeah! We do!”

Green turned back to the guard, “The longer you have us here, the more info we relay.”

The guard faltered for a moment.

He, then, raised his sword. “Do _not _make me come in there. You will regret it.”

Green shrugged, “I don’t know, Blue… do you _really _think this guy could kill us? I think we would beat him. There’s two of us, and one of him. But… he has a sword.”

Blue placed his hands on his hips, “Oh. I’m not worried. I’m sure I, _alone, _could take him out. I mean, if he was a _real _threat—he’d be fighting against Wild and the others.”

“You have a point, my brother.”

The guard growled before marching over to their cage. Blue and Green stepped back as he used keys from a keychain hidden under his armour to unlock the door. He stepped inside the cage and raised his sword.

Before he could speak, Green tackled him. “Grab the keys!”

Blue dodged an attack from the sword and grabbed onto the guard’s sword arm as Green tried to unhook the keys. Swinging his leg over the arm, he pushed against the guard’s face with his foot. The guard stumbled back as he tried to attack the two with his sword. Blue reached up and grabbed the sword, wrestling with the guard, as Green pulled the keys off the belt.

“Got it!”

Green moved from the guard, pushing him towards the wall. Blue bent the sword arm back as he grabbed the sword. Jumping off, he sliced at the guard with the weapon.

In the stunned moment, Blue and Green ran from the cell—locking the door behind them.

“Curse you,” the guard stumbled. Before Green and Blue could retort, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Seeing the small window of opportunity, the two bolted from the prison.

* * *

Though they were told that they were needed as hostages, there were no guards in the hallways around their cell.

“Which way do we go?” Blue demanded as they quietly raced.

“How am I supposed to know?”

“You seem to have this all planned out!”

“I was making it up on the fly! Annoying someone enough to come into our cell is different than knowing which way to go!”

“Well, _I _don’t know where the exit is!”

“You weren’t unconscious when we arrived though!”

Blue glared, “They teleported us _directly _into that room, genius. You can sure act as deceiving as Vio, but you are _definitely _not as smart.”

Occasionally checking down the optional hallways, there was still no one in sight. No one could hear their bickering from where they fought on the surface. The only time they stopped was when someone called out to them.

“Green! Blue!”

Turning around, Blue nearly decapitated Wind. He dodged it quickly, revealing Legend standing behind him.

“Woah!” Wind exclaimed, “Calm down! It’s us!”

Blue glared, “How do we know that you’re not Yiga in disguise!”

“Well,” Legend pointed out, “How do _we _know you’re not Yiga in disguise?”

The four stood at a crossroads.

“We only are if you are,” Green carefully said. “If you’re Yiga in disguise, then so are we. But if you’re not, then neither are we.”

Blue growled, “We don’t have _time _for this… Come on, Green, if they want to play this stupid game—let them. We have some escaping to do.”

Legend blinked, “Well, we would help—but if you want to do it yourself, you go right ahead. Though,” he added as an afterthought, “That’s not the way to the exit.”

“Legend!” Wind chastised. “We came to help them! We’re not leaving them!”

“Hate to interrupt,” Blue snapped, “But can we _go _now?”

They nodded, “Come on.” Legend gestured down the hallway, “Our plan, kind of, failed—so we’re taking this time as a distraction.”

“Failed?” Green wondered as they hurried through the hallway. “What happened?”

“Nothing too bad,” Wind admitted, “Wild got spotted, so Legend and I had to come down here instead.”

“We have no teleportation.” Legend summarised, “I hope you’re ready to run.”

* * *

The Yiga Clan hideout was a maze.

They took a few wrong turns and had to backtrack. Blue would get more agitated the more they backtracked.

Eventually, they found a door leading out to a courtyard. A large pit was in the middle of the area.

The Yiga Clan were fighting the seven other Links.

Time was slicing down the assassins with his Biggoron Sword as was Sky with his Master Sword. Warriors seemed to be dancing with his Knight Sword against the disappearing assassins. Hyrule would use his Magic Sword before switching to magic for a spell. Twilight was covering Wild as he fired at the Yiga with his bow.

Vio and Red were nowhere to be seen.

Legend took out his Tempered Sword as some Yiga members spotted the four. Wind whipped out his Phantom Sword and shield.

“What do we have?” Green demanded. “Do we have swords!?”

“We didn’t plan on having you fight!” Legend admitted as he blocked an attack from a Footsoldier. Wind teamed up with him and quickly took the Footsoldier down. Legend passed Green the sickle, “Use this currently.”

Without another word, the four went into battle.

Fighting with the sickle was different than fighting with the Four Sword. The Windcleaver Blue had was also different. But, the two made due with the weapons.

The group of ten Links were doing well against the assassins. They were doing even better than they were when they first encountered the Yiga.

Green couldn’t help but wonder if Legend and Hyrule got injured because _they _(Green, Red, Blue, and Vio) were incompetent.

But then he’d take down a Yiga—helping out one of the Links—and realised that they were just not prepared for the Yiga.

The Yiga fought in a different way—much different than monsters, Vaati, and even Ganon. They were not mindless monsters who fought for food and power, they were people—Hylians. They were trained, not just going off of natural brute strength. They tricked, deceived, and used Hylian weaknesses against the Heroes.

None of the four had encountered an enemy like the Yiga.

They were also assassins. They did not flaunt their power out for the world, they did not flaunt their weakness. They simply did their job and disappeared.

There were no Yiga Clans in Four’s world.

There was no way for them to prepare against them.

Green took down another enemy, and was about to attack a Yiga on Wind when someone yelled. “You! You two! The blue and green!”

Blue and Green turned and saw the man marching towards them.

“You escaped! I get to kill you now!”

The man rushed towards them, raising his sickle in his non-injured hand.

“Duck!” Wild yelled, Blue and Green obliged.

An arrow shot by his feet—exploding him and the other Yigas around. A form raced through the smoke and tackled Green, swiping the sickle from his hand.

Gahka pressed a knife against his throat.

“EVERYBODY FREEZE!” Gahka yelled. “MAKE ONE MOVE AND HE DIES!”

The whole field froze.

Green gulped against the knife as Blue glowered.

“Now,” Gahka calmly started, “You, Heroes, are going to put down your weapons. You’re going to be captured by us, and executed shortly. If you do not listen to what I say, I will slit his throat right here—and we resume fighting.”

“You don’t want to do that,” Time mentioned.

Gahka scoffed, “I do. The Yiga wants the Hero dead. And if killing this boy will help kill the Hero—then it will be worth it?”

“Boy?” Green griped. “I’m not that young.”

“If you speak again, I’m going to kill you.” Gahka warned. He turned to the rest of them, “Well? I’m waiting.”

Wild furrowed his brow, “This is between the Yiga and me, no need to involve anyone else.”

“Of course, the Hero tries to reason with us.” Gahka observed. “How predictable. _Of course, _we’re going to involve others. They’re close to you, are they not? That’s reason enough for their death.”

Blue growled, “If you harm him, I’ll kill you.”

“Protective, eh?” Gahka mentioned. “I was waiting until you threatened me.” he gestured to the pit, “How about I make you a deal? All of you can go and jump into the Bottomless Pit, and I’ll let this one go.”

“How about _you—”_

“Blue,” Green interrupted, “Stop.”

Gahka looked down at Green, “Hmm… I take back my earlier statement about retracting my statement. You no longer piss me off as much as him.” He raised his knife off of Green’s neck and pointed at Blue, “Maybe I’ll kill you first.”

A sword flew across the yard and smacked Gahka in the back. He fell off of the green clad Link and Green rolled out from under him. Glancing at the sword thrown, Green grabbed the green Four Sword.

“My sword?” he wondered.

Wild took this moment and shot at Gahka with his arrows. One entered his shoulders and his leg. Blue grabbed his Windcleaver and threw it at Gahka, pushing him closer to the pit. His back was covered in scratches, and bleeding heavily. Green, the closest, lunged at him and sliced at him with his sword.

Gahka lost balance and tumbled over the edge of the pit. His hand quickly gripped the ledge.

“Master Gahka!” the Yiga called.

Wild took another arrow and shot at his arm. Gahka screamed but let go of the edge.

His screams faded the farther down he fell.

The Yiga shook themselves from their haze and yelled, “For Master Kogha! Master Gahka! Death to the Hero!”

“Everyone retreat out of the camp!” Time ordered, “Wild, shoot the flame barrels!”

The ten Links retreated from the assassin’s base. They fought their way to the exit, and climbed up to safety. The Yiga chased after them, shooting their own arrows at them.

“Give me a Bomb Arrow.” Legend yelled to Wild as he swiped away some Yiga, “I’ll help!”

Wild tossed Legend a Bomb Arrow and the two took aim. Without a single word, the arrows flew through the air and struck the mass of barrels scattered around the base. They blew up, taking the scattered Yiga with them. A fire spread through the base, the flames licking at the wood around.

“Come on,” Time gained everyone’s attention, “Let’s head back to Kakariko Village.”

Twilight shook Wild from his daze of watching the fire.

“Hold up,” Green stopped them, “Who threw my sword?”

“Yeah,” Blue wondered, “And why didn’t anyone throw _mine?”_

Sky blinked at the two, “We didn’t bring it.”

“Well, who had it?”

The group looked among each other, shrugging and denying claim. Suddenly two figures emerged from the bushes.

“I threw it.”

The group turned around, aiming their weapons at Vio and Red. Slowly lowering the weapons, Legend mused. “Weren’t you guys supposed to _stay put?”_

Red nodded, “Yeah… but I couldn’t stand not knowing how things were going!”

“Trust me,” Vio assured, “It was better to give in to his wishes than to let him complain.”

Blue scoffed under his breath. It was loud enough that the red clad Link gasped and rushed towards them. “Blue! Green! You’re okay!”

He hugged them hard. Vio merely nodded in their direction.

“Yup.” Green nodded.

Blue glared at Vio, “Where’s my sword?”

Vio rolled his eyes, “Relax. Red has it.”

“That’s supposed to make me _relax?”_

Twilight stepped forward, “So, Green, Blue _are _you okay?”

Green nodded as Red detached from them. “Yeah, I wasn’t injured. Blue has a cut though.”

Blue scoffed, “Way to out me.”

Sky stepped forward, “Where are you hurt?”

“It’s nothing,”

“Not taking that for an answer. You didn’t let me help last time; I’m helping now.”

Blue sighed, “It’s just a small cut on my hand.”

“I have a potion,” Hyrule stepped forward, but nearly tripped. Legend caught him before he fell.

“I think you need your own potions,” he said. “You used up a lot of magic.”

Hyrule waved him off.

Wind rocked on his heels, seemingly unable to contain his questions, “So… is this why you don’t like us touching your sword?”

* * *

The group sat around a small campfire by a bridge. They had held off on their questions until after dinner—which was a soup of mushrooms, prime meat, and rice. Once everyone had finished supper, the interrogation started.

“So…” Wind wondered, “I heard stories about the Hero of the Four Swords, and it said that the sword duplicated you…”

Vio nodded, “That is what we were told as well.”

“It didn’t exactly work out like that.” Green added.

“In retrospect, we shouldn’t have believed legends and myths. They are not always honest.” Vio placed down his bowl. “The sword split us into four parts. Each as an aspect of ourselves. I am certain that you have easily identified what we… represent, for lack of a better term.”

“Vio’s pretty much stuck up.” Blue shrugged.

“At least I’m not the one who rushes into battle without thinking.” Vio muttered.

“At least _I’m _not the one who creates a plan but doesn’t tell anyone else!” Blue crossed his arms, “Unlike _certain _people…”

“Guys…” Red complained, “Don’t fight again!”

Green sheepishly shrugged to the others, “It’s… a work in progress.”

“I can tell…” Twilight assured.

“We’ve gotten better!” Red chimed. “Before, Blue and Vio could barely stand each other! Same with Blue and Green! Hmmm… there seems to be a theme there…”

“So,” Legend interrupted, “Blue’s rowdy. Vio’s a nerd. Red’s emotional. And Green’s… normally how Four is?”

Green shrugged, “We’ve had an argument before about that.”

“I am not a nerd.” Vio defended. “I simply use my intelligence in a different way.”

Blue scoffed, “You literally knew that a cave couldn’t be formed from that stone by looking at it.”

Hyrule mused, “I am now confused…”

“Hold up,” Warriors said, “Like… what’s the situation when you’re Four? Is it you’re minds are merged and then split, or do you coherently have to work together?”

Green nodded, “Yes.”

At the confused looks, Vio explained. “Depending on the scenario, both. Normally, we’re as we were before the sword. But, generally after a Switch between worlds, it’s the second option. It normally lasts ten minutes at most, but the control of our body changes every time.

“The last time we Switched,” he continued, “We were unmerged. Red and I shared control of our body itself—I was the right side and he the left. Blue could only hear while Green could only see. It lasted longer than anticipated, but we were fine in the morning.”

Time furrowed his brow, “So, from the moment we landed in Wild’s world, you were… unmerged?”

They nodded. “Yeah! But we were fine when we woke up!”

“I theorise that our passing out is our mind trying to account for the Switches. We just need to turn off and on again, then we’re fine.” Vio assured.

Blue scoffed, “Unless there’s a battle.”

“So, _every time _we Switch, this happens?” Hyrule rephrased.

The four nodded.

“I have been a terrible friend.”

“What!” Red exclaimed, “No, you haven’t!”

Hyrule shook his head, “I never noticed anything was off…”

“To be fair,” Green mentioned, “We tried hard to make _sure _that no one knows.”

“None of us noticed anything was off,” Time assured. “It wasn’t just you.”

“But it’s not your fault!” Red rephrased, “Don’t feel bad for something we hid from you!”

Vio nodded, “Red’s correct. Feeling pity for something you were never supposed to know is not very productive.”

Warriors mused, “Wait, so… when we landed in Legend’s world and we had to fight those Bokoblins, that was you working coherently?”

They nodded again.

“That’s a lot of coordination.”

Green shrugged, “It’s mostly us yelling at each other. That’s why we’re sloppy whenever we fight within that time frame.”

“That may be coordinated well,” Twilight mentioned, “But that’s reckless. Even more than Wild.”

“Hey!” Wild complained. He paused, “Is that a compliment or an insult?”

“So, I wasn’t going insane when I saw four of you!” Hyrule exclaimed. “That wasn’t my concussion!”

The three turned to Vio, “I thought you said he’d forget that.” Blue muttered.

“I could only hypothesise.”

Red nodded to Hyrule, “Yup!”

“Why didn’t you do what you do earlier then?” Legend wondered.

The four sheepishly looked at each other. “We… didn’t really want to explain this to the group.” Green explained. “We didn’t feel as if it was necessary. We were fine with only being merged.”

Vio mused, “More of, _Blue _didn’t want to explain this to the group. The rest of us were fine with it.”

“Yeah, I don’t like keeping secrets!”

“I was a little on both sides…”

“_Don’t _villainize me, _Vio_.”

“Well,” Sky mentioned, “This definitely makes more sense as to why people kept saying there was four Heroes in your world.”

Vio looked at his shadow from the campfire.

“Yeah,” Green rubbed the back of his head, “I was surprised that you didn’t question why there was only one of us.”

Legend shrugged, “You didn’t want to tell. It wasn’t our secret to pry.”

“Is there any…” Time hesitated to find a proper word, “Withdrawals if you don’t… split?”

Green shrugged, “Not really. At least, not that we’ve had so far.”

“Well,” Vio added, “If we don’t split for a while, and then we split, we can be pretty stiff.”

“But that’s all!”

Green mused for a moment, “And that has only happened once.”

Wind bounced, “So! What _does _happen if we touch your sword? Will we be split as well?”

The four blinked. “I don’t think so.” Green slowly answered. “Legend didn’t…”

Vio mused, “We don’t know. The curse—or blessing if you will—seems to only affect us after we drew it. And the upgrades we made to it may have done something to the curse or blessing. We don’t know.”

“And we don’t _want_ to know.” Blue muttered.

Vio thought otherwise.

“Well,” Legend stood up, “This has been an interesting conversation and such, but I’m beat. I’m heading to bed.”

Time nodded, “That’s a good idea. I’ll take first watch.”

“I guess we merge then?” Green turned to the others.

“Only makes sense. We brought only one sleeping bag.” Vio agreed. “And the potions healed everyone.”

“Oh! How do you merge?” Wind wondered.

The four stood up and grabbed their swords. “Like this.”

The tips of the swords touched and a bright light surrounded the four.

Four became one.

* * *

Four looked at the group around the campfire. He awkwardly rubbed his arm, “Hey… thanks for not kicking me out of the group for lying.”

“You didn’t lie,” Hyrule mentioned.

Four shrugged, “I kind of did… a bunch after we Switched worlds….”

“That’s the past,” Time said, “There’s no use dwelling on it. The future is coming, and I don’t think anyone should be sleep deprived then. Go to sleep.”

Four nodded and crawled into his bed roll, as did many others.

The sound of the fire crackling lulled them to sleep.

* * *

It was the familiar pull of the world vanishing that awoke everyone.

“Oh, Hylia,” Legend swore, “We’re Switching again.”

A major headache pounded in Four’s head, nothing out of the unusual. Twilight was having a similar reaction. He shut his eyes from the bright light.

The world seemed to tighten and disappear before instantaneously returning at once.

The sound of birds chirping caused Four to slowly open his eyes.

* * *

_‘Okay,’ _Vio sighed, _‘Who has what?’ _Four slowly lifted up both of his arms, _‘I have control of our body. Arms at least.’ _Vio informed first.

_‘I can feel.’ _Red added, _‘But nothing else.’_

Green thought, _‘I see and hear.’_

_‘I think I control our legs.’ _Blue added.

“Everyone alright?” Time asked the group as they surveyed the new forest. “Twilight?”

His response was a thumbs up.

Sky stood next to Four, “You okay, Four?”

_‘Sky wants to know if we’re okay. Who can speak?’ _Green wondered.

Blue paused, _‘I can’t.’_

“I can.” Four said.

_‘Great, _Red _can speak…’ _Blue muttered.

“You can what?” Sky wondered.

Four turned to him.

_‘Hey! I control our head and neck too!’_

“Nothing! I was just thinking out loud!”

Legend blinked from where he was comforting the sick Hyrule. “That sounded too cheery to be Four…”

Four nodded, “I am! But I guess I’m not… but I am at the same time…”

Wild looked up from where he was gathering some fallen apples, “Are you… what did you call it… unmerged?”

Four nodded before wincing from the pounding in his skull. “Yup! I can currently speak—and by I, I mean Red!”

_‘Goddess…’ _Blue muttered, _‘Someone stop him before our headache grows.’_

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Time wondered.

“Is there?” He asked.

Vio thought, _‘I guess be more accommodatable?’_

_‘I don’t know what that means….’ _Red mumbled.

_‘Neither do I, Red,’ _Green assured.

Vio sighed, _‘More accommodating.’_

“Vio says to be more accommodating? I don’t know.”

“Can you stand?” Sky wondered.

_‘That’s too much coordination, and I’m far too tired.’ _Blue explained.

_‘How could you be tired?’ _Green wondered, _‘We haven’t done anything yet…’_

“Nope! Blue’s too tired!”

Sky held out his hand, “Here, I can help.”

Four grabbed Sky’s hand and the original Hero helped him to his feet. He sagged a little from the sudden vertical height.

_‘Can you, at least, help us stand?’ _Green wondered to Blue.

_‘Too tired.’_

“Sorry!” Four apologised, the pounding in his head increasing.

“It’s not your fault,” Sky assured. He slung one of Four’s arms around his shoulders, “We can help you.”

Four smiled against the pain.

Maybe they should’ve told them earlier.

But like what Time said, that was the past.

All that mattered was the future.

…

Switching still sucked, though.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


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